{"id":14514,"date":"2019-11-26T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=14514"},"modified":"2019-11-15T10:09:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T15:09:50","slug":"vegan-foods-for-latinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2019\/11\/26\/vegan-foods-for-latinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Foods for Latinos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Lucia Rivera, VRG intern<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4 Day Menu of Latin American Vegan Dishes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n  \n <\/td>\n Day 1\n <\/td>\n Day 2\n <\/td>Day 3 <\/td>Day 4<\/td><\/tr>
Breakfast <\/td>Plantain
empanadas
filled with
beans and a side of fruit salad <\/td>		Vegan
chilaquiles
with vegan
soy \u201ccheese\u201d and vegan
\u201cchicken\u201d<\/td>		Vegan soy
chorizo,
refried
beans, and
guacamole <\/td>
Gallo pinto (stovetop
beans and
rice
mixture)
and corn
tortillas<\/td><\/tr>
\n Lunch\n <\/td>Vegetable
fajita tacos (made with mushroom,
bell peppers, zucchini,
onion, and
tomatoes)<\/td>
Refried bean
and rice
burrito in
wheat
tortilla
(vegan
cheese
alternative
is optional)<\/td>
Tostada
topped with pinto beans, cabbage, tomato, and
avocado
with a side
of fried
potatoes<\/td>		Sweet corn
tamales with side of
beans and
red rice <\/td><\/tr>
\n Dinner\n <\/td>
Bean
pupusas
with tomato-based salsa
and
avocado,
with a side
of tostones (baked
plantain
circles)<\/td>		Gallo pinto
(fried red
beans and
rice) with
fried ripe
plantains<\/td>		Vegan
pozole (with jackfruit,
hominy,
lentils, and
pinto beans) with tortilla
chips<\/td>		Sopa de
fideos (angel hair pasta
soup in
tomato base) with fried
potato tacos <\/td><\/tr>
\n Snacks\n <\/td>Fried yucca
with salsa <\/td>
Vegan avena caliente (hot oatmeal and plant-milk)
<\/td>		Fresh fruit <\/td>Dried fruit
and nuts <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n

Abuela\u2019s tamales,\nyour favorite soups and stews, and the best tacos you have ever had \u2013 and all\nvegan. The sphere of Latin American traditional and adapted recipes include\nsome amazing vegan options for anyone who wishes to enjoy the culinary aspect\nof the Latinx culture while staying true to their own ethical lifestyle. As a\nvegetarian Latina who loves<\/em> food, I\ncan undoubtedly say that despite the most common Latin American dishes being\nstuffed, flavored, mixed with, or primarily consisting of meat and dairy\nproducts, Latinx vegans and vegetarians do, in fact, exist! There are numerous\nways for someone used to traditional Latin American food to enjoy that part of\ntheir culture while adapting to veganism, whether it be through replacing\ningredients or simply avoiding them. As a large part of the Latinx culture,\nfood is central to connecting with others and can be enjoyed by all eaters, including\nvegetarians and vegans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any Latinx recipes can be altered to replace chicken, beef, pork, or any other meat with soy or vegetable faux meat. Tacos are a classic example of a popular Latin American meal that can easily be made vegan with some black beans, soy-based ground beef, and any choice of vegan toppings. Toppings range from vegetable-based salsas, to sour cream-free guacamole, to the simple additions of lime, salt, chiles, and diced onion. It is also not uncommon for taco trucks or shops to offer a vegetarian or vegan option, which goes to show how simple these changes can be. I have personally had delicious jackfruit tacos, soy \u201cfish\u201d and chip tacos, and vegetable and mushroom fajita tacos that each offered an amazing vegan alternative to traditional taco recipes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As someone with Mexican and Nicaraguan heritage, I am mostly writing about Mexican and Central American dishes in this article. Therefore, options I mention in this article are only a few of the thousands of recipes from Latin America. For example, in some South American countries like Venezuela, quinoa is used as a great, nutritious vegan option that can be added to taco recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When eating out however (especially at traditional restaurants), some orders that may appear vegan could surprisingly contain animal products. Examples of this are when some restaurants fry beans and tortillas in lard, or when chicken broth is used to cook rice. It can help vegans to ask the waiter or chef at a restaurant to confirm a dish is animal product-free, especially if one has concerns about a specific ingredient like refined sugar. While sweet corn tamales made by a relative might not include sugar or sour cream, at an unfamiliar restaurant it would be safer to double check. For home cooking, all dairy and meat ingredients can be replaced with a number of plant-based alternatives of one\u2019s own preference. It is easier to enjoy these possibilities in one\u2019s own home where you have the opportunity to experiment with your own cooking. \u00a0Whether Latin American vegan dishes are prepared at home or enjoyed at a restaurant, they fully transmit all the tradition, culture, and deliciousness of traditional Latinx recipes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternatively, if one does not want to put replacement meat and dairy to use, there are other options that can satisfy comfort food cravings. For example, even though Salvadoran pupusas (stovetop-cooked tortilla-like dough encased around a filling) can be stuffed with chicken, they also can be ordered or prepared filled with delicious beans or loroco, which is an edible flower that is grown in Central America. Important staple ingredients for many Latin American dishes are also coincidentally vegan. These include both corn and wheat tortillas, guacamole (most of the time), rice, and lots of salsas. Luckily, many different vegetables are staples in Latin American foods, ranging from corn to squash to chile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legumes of different kinds are also found all over Latin America at almost every dinner table and restaurant, offering the perfect chance for a vegan meal. Someone who refrains from eating meat can still get tons of nutrients from the daily serving of beans that is common in most Latinx households. Most Latin American countries and regions have a specific type of bean that they mostly use. In Nicaragua it is a smaller reddish bean, while in Mexico more often recipes use pinto beans. Besides many different types of beans, varying kinds of lentils and peas are popular in recipes like pigeon peas used in the Puerto Rican, arroz con gandules<\/em> which can be vegan-ized with a soy \u201cpork\u201d alternative. Overall, vegetables and fruits are typically found in breakfast, lunch, and dinner, whether in a main dish or as a side. An example of this is the avocado, which is used to give many vegan salsas a creamier texture and used as a topping on a range of dishes. As a side dip, guacamole is an essential component to Mexican meals, as is an option of cabbage to top off one\u2019s platter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people who have recently become vegan and wish to find ways to adjust their own favorite recipes, the internet is a great place to get inspiration. Although it may not have been true a few years ago, there is now an abundance of cookbooks, blogs, and single recipes aimed right at the Latinx and vegan demographic. Some examples of recipe alterations that are suggested include replacing lentils for ground meat, using cashew-lime cream, tofu on tostadas, or jackfruit in tacos. Another option to try is using a replacement for cheese in Latin American dishes, which can be done at home with nutritional yeast and vegetables, or can be bought at many grocery stores. Vegan cheese is another way to adapt a non-vegan recipe without falling far from its traditional components! With recipes like these available on the internet, it is not such a daunting task to take on veganism and stay connected with the food of your culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To view more Latin\nAmerican vegan recipes, peruse the links below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peruvian\nVegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vegan Mexican Meal Plan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guatemalan\nVegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colombian\nAndean Vegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mexican\nVegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vegan\nTamales<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brazilian\nVegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ecuadorian\nVegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Argentine\nVegan Cuisine<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

South\nAmerican Soup Recipes<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Glossary:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chilaquiles \u2013\ntraditional baked Mexican dish of layered tortilla, filling, and sauce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empanada \u2013 Crispy\nouter dough encased around a choice of filling (can be sweet or savory)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plantain \u2013 a fruit,\nsimilar to a banana, used in many Latin American recipes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pozole \u2013 type of\nMexican soup traditionally made with hominy, meat (you can use a vegan meat),\nand vegetables<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pupusa \u2013\nstovetop-cooked tortilla-like dough encased around a filling<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lucia Rivera, VRG intern 4 Day Menu of Latin American Vegan Dishes   Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Breakfast Plantain empanadas filled with beans and a side of fruit salad Vegan chilaquiles with vegan soy \u201ccheese\u201d and vegan \u201cchicken\u201d Vegan soy chorizo, refried beans, and guacamole Gallo pinto (stovetop beans and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14514"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14524,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14514\/revisions\/14524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}